


could you find a way to let me down slowly?

by pearlselegancies



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, M/M, basically none of the daniel buckley stuff is canon in order for this to work, eli is going thru it, the buckley's are still shitty parents tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-20 22:20:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30011784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pearlselegancies/pseuds/pearlselegancies
Summary: Eli fiddled with the sweatshirt he was wearing, his heart pounding as Buck came jogging to the door, opening it with a smile, his face turning into one of concern as he saw Eli. "Eli? What are you doing here?" Eli shrugged, looking his brother over.-  or eli buckley came to california with just a backpack, an inkling of a dream, and the address to his brother's apartment. and that was all the 18 year old needed to start anew.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Maddie Buckley, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Maddie Buckley & Original Male Character(s), Evan "Buck" Buckley & Original Male Character(s), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Maddie Buckley/Howie “Chimney” Han, Original Male Character(s) & May Grant
Comments: 1
Kudos: 60





	could you find a way to let me down slowly?

_ Eli couldn't breathe. Someone- one of his neighbours Eli thought had their hand on his back, gently rubbing it, as another person - someone from EMS placed an oxygen mask over his face. His dad stood to the side, grumbling about useless kids with medical issues. All while Eli couldn't fucking breathe.  _

_ His big sister Maddie would have washed his mouth out with soap if she heard what he was saying in his head, but considering the fact that he couldn't breath, he figured he got a slip on that.  _

_ "Eli? C'mon kiddo." The EMS person, a nice lady with sandy blonde hair pressed the oxygen mask against his lips tighter, instructing him to take a deep breath. And Eli did that, and god, he had never loved air more in his life. _

_ "Good job sweetheart. Keep breathing like that, I need to go talk to your dad." The lady smiled at him, and Eli watched her as she walked away and towards his dad with wide eyes. Eli's dad said something as the lady came up to him, and she did not look happy.  _

_ He pointed at Eli and that made the lady very mad. The lady and his dad seemed to yell at each other for a long time before Eli heard his dad yell.  _ _ "I can't keep him! My wife just died, my daughter just got married and my other no good for anything son is in fucking Colombia or some shit! For fuck's sake, the kid can't breathe on his own without that stupid inhaler!"  _

_ The lady stared at his dad for a long moment, and Eli could feel tears welling up in his eyes. _ _ "Fine sir." She turned away from his dad and walked back to Eli, crouching in front of him. "Eli sweetheart? We're going to take you to the hospital so the doctors can make sure your lungs are ok, and then you'll get to meet your social worker." _

_ Eli nodded slowly, and the lady grabbed his hand and brought him to the ambulance. His dad didn't look at him, and Eli could feel tears forming in his eyes. The ambulance doors closed, and the tears came falling down. _

_ [....] _

Eli stared at the apartment door, his backpack feeling as if it weighed a million pounds. This was a stupid idea. There was no way Buck would want to see him.

But he was here now. And going back to Hershey was not an option. So Eli bit his bottom lip, took a breath and knocked on the door. "Coming!" He could hear his brother's voice echoing through the apartment.

Eli fiddled with the sweatshirt he was wearing, his heart pounding as Buck came jogging to the door, opening it with a smile, his face turning into one of concern as he saw Eli. "Eli? What are you doing here?" Eli shrugged, looking his brother over.

Buck was taller now, almost a full 6 feet now. His birthmark was still there, red like always, and as Buck stared at him in shock, Eli felt his anxiety dim. "I left. Ms. Kayne doesn't know. I can't do that to her, telling her that I left. I can stay here for a night and then get out of your way-"

"No!" Buck interrupted sighing as he let Eli into his apartment. "C'mon kid. You need to sleep and eat. Then we can figure out what we're going to do. Ok?"

Eli nodded slowly, following Buck into the house. It was large, to say the least. A lot bigger than Eli expected. A staircase that went upstairs, a nice couch. It was roomy, but it looked lived in.

Buck's LAFD gear sat underneath the coffee table, and Eli could see a crayon drawing stuck up on the freezer.

He looked at Buck in confusion.  Since when did Buck have a kid? 

"That's Chris's. My boyfriend's kid's drawing. They come over pretty much every day _._ If they aren't here, I'm usually at their house." Buck responded to Eli's confused look. Eli nodded in understanding. Buck had come out to Eli years before, back when Dad was still healthy. It wasn't a surprise at all that Buck had a boyfriend.

"Cute. How old is he?" Eli asked as he dropped his backpack next to Buck's LAFD gear. Buck smiled before responding. "He's 8 turning 9. He's the smartest kid I know." Eli raised an eyebrow, pretending to be hurt. Buck laughed. "Other than you of course." His tone got sad, and Eli stared at him as he continued.

"Chris and Eddie, they've had some hard times. Chris's mom left a couple of years ago and then died in a car crash after she came back. On top of that, Chris has cerebral palsy, so Eddie struggled for a bit with taking care of him." Eli nodded, that did seem like a lot for a family to go through.

Buck shook his head, a bright smile on his face again. "But it's ok because we're good now. They have me, and the rest of the 118. Plus Abuela, Carla and Tia Pepa." Eli smiled. Buck was happy, and it practically radiated off of him.

"That's good." Eli hummed as he sat down. He ran a shaky hand through his still-damp hair. Buck smiled at him before speaking. "What about you kiddo?" Eli looks up, and he shrugs. "Ms. Kayne is sick. A tumour. Ev... I don't want her to die."

His brother sucked in a breath. “Shit. God kid. How long does she have?” Eli shrugged. “I don’t know. I booked it as soon as I found out. I couldn’t watch her die. I just couldn’t Ev.” He was blabbering and he knew it. Buck stared at him for a moment before he wrapped his arms around him. A tear rolled down Eli’s cheek and before he knew it, he was full on crying. “I got you kid. I got you.” 

And somehow, Eli knew that that was the truth. 


End file.
